


And then there was

by Ann7121



Category: Blake's 7
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-18
Updated: 2020-08-18
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:54:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25980058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ann7121/pseuds/Ann7121
Summary: Someone or thing is taking out The Liberator Crew One by one ... will any of them survive?
Comments: 9
Kudos: 7





	And then there was

**Author's Note:**

> From an idea from Executrix

She woke to the sound of whispering and left her cabin to investigate. Adjusting her eyes to the dim, green glow of the corridor, she heard it again, a faint, persistent rustle. Was that a moon disc slithering towards Cally’s door? Jenna watched as it paused, chittered some more, and then the door swung open silently to admit it. Returning to her room she stood on the remains of what looked like a rodent, skin only, its insides completely scooped out.

Cally, when questioned the following morning, professed to know nothing about what might have occurred. In fact she accused Jenna of having dreamed the whole thing. The look she gave her as she did so was venomous, and so unlike Cally as to startle Jenna into withdrawing without comment. The moon disc in its sandbox chittered and whispered as she left. Jenna took to locking her door at night.

Nothing further happened for three days. And then Cally announced to the crew, with beaming pride, that the moon disc had reproduced. She displayed the sand tray, full now of tiny little moon discs slithering through the sand. Moon discs reproduced through a process known as fission, she explained. It only happened when the environmental conditions they were experiencing were favourable; a good supply of food for example. “What do they eat?” Jenna asked? “This and that,” Cally replied vaguely. The moon discs chittered to each other.

Something was eating its way through the rodent population on the Liberator. Gan mentioned finding several eviscerated corpses in the forward hanger. “Good,” said Avon. “They were getting out of control.” “But would they be eating each other.? Gan asked doubtfully. “Rats do that,” Vila explained from the depths of his experience in Delta slums. In Cally’s cabin, the moon discs chittered and reproduced again.

Gan was missing. Eventually, they tracked down what was left of him in one of the washrooms. Vila was promptly sick. “Could rats do this?” Blake wondered. “Probably,” Avon supplied. “I said they were getting out of hand.” “Have you considered the moon discs?” Jenna asked. “Nonsense,” Cally snapped. “They’re a friendly species.” “It seems unlikely,” Blake agreed. “I’ll put down rat poison, and Vila, you can clear up this mess,” Avon stated in a tone that brooked no argument. Vila was sick again.

They were running out of sand trays. The moon disc murmurs were an ever present susurration as their members increased exponentially. “Soothing,” Cally claimed. It drove Jenna mad. When they discovered Vila, or rather Vila’s leg in the galley, she insisted that Blake and Avon took her concerns about the creatures seriously, “Before its too late,” she begged, an edge of hysteria in her normally rational tone. Cally asked how Jenna thought that a creature with no teeth could inflict the damage they’d seen on living flesh. “It’s more likely to be one of us,” she said. “Or an alien that’s infiltrated us. Or rats.” The surviving crew members looked at each other warily. “We could ask Zen,” Avon suggested.

Zen announced it could detect no alien life forms aboard the Liberator. “Not even Moon discs?” Avon queried. +No alien life forms.+ repeated Zen. “Something or someone is picking us off, one by one,” Avon pressed. +I have no information pertaining to that.+ Zen replied. “Is it one of us?” Blake wondered aloud. The lights on the flight deck shivered. “It’s rats, it has to be,” said Avon. “Moon discs,” muttered Jenna. “If it is, then you’ll be the next on their list, won’t you!” said Cally. “We should ask Orac for his opinion” Blake decided. ‘It’s opinion,” corrected Avon. The flight deck plunged into abrupt darkness.

“Where’s Blake?” Jenny asked as the lights came on again and Avon thankfully threw down his probe. “I’m not his keeper,” he snapped. “He’s probably gone to his cabin.” The lighting wasn’t at full strength and they all drew together as the shadows seemed to close in. “He wouldn’t do that,” Jenna quavered. “He’s mortal,”Avon remarked sarcastically. “Even your beloved leader needs to pee.” He thrust the key with some force into Orac. Jenna coloured slightly and then jumped as the device buzzed into life. “Well?” it demanded irascibly. 

“You may have noticed that our numbers are dwindling,” Avon remarked, with what Jenna thought was an all too satisfied grin. “Now Blake is missing too. Do you have anything that might illuminate what is going on, or what we should do about it?”

“Find Blake,” Orac replied. “And all will become clear.”

“I can’t believe Blake has anything to do with this,”Jenna protested as the three cautiously left the flight deck and began exploring. “Of course not, it’s rats,” Cally scoffed. “Or Avon,” she whispered as he forged ahead, opening doors and then jumping sideways, theatrically. “You know, I’ve been thinking that too,” Jenna hissed.

After a long, Blakeless search they were tired. “Let’s call it a night,” Cally suggested. “Good idea,” Avon agreed. “Make sure you both lock yourselves in.” “Like that would keep him out,” Cally whispered again.

Jenna pulled her desk in front of the door. She lay on her bed for a while but it was hot and sweaty in her cabin. Sliding out of her day clothes, she put on her dressing robe and made for the bathroom. Her screams reverberated through the Liberator.

It was a difficult process to break into the room. Jenna waved in the direction of the bathroom and, after one look, Avon averted his eyes and chucked a teleport bracelet on to what remained of Blake. “Zen. Lock onto the signal and send it into space,” he commanded. Cally did her best to calm down the hysterical Jenna. “Who’s next?” she wailed.

“Zen,” Avon interrupted brusquely,” have you disposed of B... the remains,” he amended hastily, as Jenna let out another agonised whimper.

\+ Confirmed.+

“Then I have another task. Where is the nearest habitable planet, that it’s safe for us to land on?”

A short pause, and Zen answered, +The planet Zaphalia meets those conditions.+

“Excellent. Estimated travel time?”

+Twelve Earth hours.+

“Set an immediate course for Zaphalia. Inform us when we arrive. Once we have teleported, shut down all life support systems and begin fumigation of the entire ship. No countermands.”

“Wait a minute, Avon. That’s very high handed, of you.” Cally was indignant, a pugnacious flush colouring her cheeks. 

“You’re welcome to stay on board, but I’m not letting either of you, or a gang of killer rats, get me,” he replied sternly.

“W..what makes you think we might be involved?” Jenna quavered.

“Well, it’s certainly not me! I’m off to bed. I suggest you get some sleep and meet me at the teleport, in,” he consulted his wrist watch, “eleven hours, fifty four minutes. Don’t be late. And lock your door,” he added as an after-thought.

“Do you really want to teleport down to an unknown planet with Avon?” Cally asked after he’d left.

“Do we have a choice? He’s either saved us or stitched us up nicely. Anyway, I’ll be going armed so he’ll have to be quick to take us both.”

Exhausted between bouts of weeping and worrying, Jenna eventually fell asleep. When she woke and checked her chronometer, she was horrified to discover that some twenty hours had passed. But the atmosphere in her cabin appeared to be stable. “Zen,” she called out. “Status report!” 

After an unaccustomed delay, Zen stated in slightly slurred accents, +All’s fine here babe. Just chilling....+ 

Alarmed she tried again. “Zen? Where are we?”

+Just hanging, babe. Wow. Look at that nebula. The lights, man. I can see... eternity.+

Armed to the teeth, Jenna cautiously opened her door and inched her way to Avon’s cabin. The door hung open. There was no sign of the tec. “Zen,” she demanded sharply, “Where is Avon?”

Another long pause and then, what sounded like a giggle, and Zen muttered, + All over the place.+.

Orac was on the desk, key beside him. “Orac, something’s wrong with Zen,” she said, slamming in his key.”What’s going on?”

“I am contemplating the infinite universe,” it answered prissily. “You should try it, Jenna. Expand your limited mind.”

“Cally?” Jenna pressed the button on her bracelet and spoke softly. “Are you ok, Cally? Zen and Orac have gone mad and I can’t find Avon.” Almost instantly Cally’s bright voice replied, “He’s with me, Jenna. Everything’s fine now. Why don’t you join us?”

Jenna burst into Cally’s cabin, gun at the ready and then stood transfixed at the sight. “What the hell?” she demanded.

Cally lay on her bed in her white dress, surrounded and covered by tiny moon discs. Another group were gathered around what looked like a hand, slurping gently.

“W...what’s going on, Cally.”

“Your gun won’t work in here, Jenna,” Cally answered with a sinister smile. “Welcome. You’re just in time for the feast


End file.
